Technologies

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 Still Doesn’t Have S Pen Storage: Here’s Why

Samsung’s 2023 S Pen is slimmer than its predecessor, but the signature stylus still cannot be docked directly on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (yet). Here’s a look at how Samsung’s thinking about how to solve it.

Samsung’s latest book-style foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, has made headlines for its thinner design, which includes a hinge that lets the phone fold completely flat. But its key accessory, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 S Pen Fold Edition, has shed some weight, too.

During a press roundtable I attended in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung said that the stylus’ radius dropped from 7.4mm to 4.35mm, which is nearly the same size as the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s S Pen. That’s 41% thinner than last year’s S Pen Fold Edition. Samsung said it achieved this by way of an internal push to determine «whether or when» it could embed its S Pen into a Galaxy Fold phone.

Still, Samsung said it’s exploring whether it can create an even skinnier stylus than the new S Pen Fold Edition for a number of reasons, most notably to find a way to fit the accessory in a slot within the foldable itself.

«We’ll also look into it, but not just from a technology perspective, but from a user experience perspective,» Won-Joon Choi, head of Samsung R&D Office Mobile Experience Business said Thursday at the press roundtable. «Because when you’re writing, you need to feel as if you’re writing with a pen. If it [the S Pen] gets too thin, that feeling may not be desirable.»

Although Samsung’s support for the S Pen dates back to 2011 with the original Galaxy Note, Choi said, designing a stylus for a foldable phone poses a different set of challenges including scouring for new tip materials that don’t damage the foldable’s flexible display as well as avoiding magnet interference from the phone.

Choi also highlighted how creating the S Pen presents unique considerations compared with designing a foldable phone. For a foldable phone to take off into the mainstream, Samsung believes portability is one of three prerequisites it must meet. But with the S Pen, portability could come at the cost of usability, since Samsung’s stylus was designed to provide the experience of writing with a real pen.

S Pen doesn’t have a home (yet)

When the Galaxy Z Fold 3 debuted with stylus support in 2021, it elevated the perception of the Fold lineup from being an experimental concept to a phone aimed at productivity. However, it still drew pushback because the Z Fold 3 requires an S Pen to take full advantage of the $1800 phone. But it wasn’t included in the box. You had to buy it separately. Another drawback was that the Z Fold 3 had no way to store the S Pen: You had to buy a special case from Samsung to house it.

Fast forward to 2023, and the S Pen still doesn’t have a home. While the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 is thinner than previous Fold models, there’s still no built-in way to store the S Pen like the Galaxy S23 Ultra has. Samsung’s current solution is the $100 Galaxy Z Fold 5 Slim S Pen Case, which allows you to latch the stylus on the back half.

One of the obstacles Choi highlighted in the roundtable was the need to appease people’s conflicting desires about the future of the Z Fold design. One camp wants an even thinner book-style foldable phone, he said, but such a design would require Samsung to create an even leaner S Pen to embed. Then there are people who want the next Z Fold to be thicker, which will allow it to integrate the S Pen. A thicker foldable would make the phone less portable, however, which is one of Samsung’s core design philosophies for the category. There’s also a group of people that want a thinner phone as well as the option to embed the S Pen into the device.

«What form factor and experiences are we going to deliver to our customers to meet various needs? What is the right balance? Those are the areas we need to decide carefully which way to go.» Choi said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 30, #553

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 30 No. 553.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. You’ll need to know a little about four very different sports in order to solve it. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Make a racket.

Green group hint: Goooooal!

Blue group hint: Baseball stars.

Purple group hint: Toss the pigskin.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Tennis Grand Slams.

Green group: Premier League teams.

Blue group: Last four World Series MVPs.

Purple group: ____ football.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Tennis Grand Slams. The four answers are Australian, French, U.S., and Wimbledon.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Premier League teams. The four answers are Chelsea, Leeds, Liverpool and Sunderland.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is last four World Series MVPs. The four answers are Freeman, Peña, Seager and Yamamoto.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ football. The four answers are American, fantasy, flag and total.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, March 30

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 30.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I’m unfamiliar with «wax apples,» so 2-Down was a mystery to me until the other answers filled in. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: 1975 Spielberg film that’s considered the first summer blockbuster
Answer: JAWS

5A clue: «Oh okay, gotcha»
Answer: ISEE

6A clue: Athlete from New York (in one sport) or San Francisco (in another)
Answer: GIANT

8A clue: Declare publicly
Answer: AVOW

9A clue: Emperor who didn’t actually fiddle while Rome burned
Answer: NERO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «The ___ is up!»
Answer: JIG

2D clue: Like lotus root and wax apples
Answer: ASIAN

3D clue: Drive dangerously in traffic
Answer: WEAVE

4D clue: Spanish title
Answer: SENOR

7D clue: Scrabble value of D or G
Answer: TWO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 30 #757

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 30, No. 757.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is tough, but in the end, it’s a fun one. And the spangram makes a fun themed shape! Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: For a rainy day

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Singin’ in the rain.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CANT, CALL, ROUT, RILE, SIRE, LIRE, BAIL, MAIL, TALL, MALL, HALL, BAND, PANE, TAPAS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

RIBS, VENT, PANEL, SHAFT, BUTTON, CANOPY, HANDLE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is UMBRELLATERM. To find it, start with the U that is three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up, forming … kind of an umbrella shape?